2010's Dirty Dozen- Fruits & Vegetables

Which made the list?Ever hear of the “Dirty Dozen”? This is a list of fruits and vegetable put out by the Environmental Working Group that have been shown to contain the highest level of pesticides. How do they know this information? By reviewing “data from nearly 96,000 tests for pesticide residues in produce conducted between 2000 and 2008 and collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.”

Based on their findings, they recommend if you’re going to go “organic” to do so specifically when shopping for these twelve produce options.

Whether or not to shop organic truly is a personal preference. Nutritionally speaking, evidence remains lacking to suggest organic foods are superior in nutrient content to those grown conventionally. Environmentally speaking, the agricultural practices followed when farming organic are thought to be more eco-friendly and sustainable.

This “Dirty Dozen” list doesn’t mean you should never purchase the items listed in their conventional form. On the contrary, with the majority of people continuing to fall short in meeting their daily recommended fruit and vegetable food group goals, I recommend focusing primarily on eating as many fruits and vegetables as you can without limitations. So, don’t skip these twelve items...just keep them in mind for if and when you do see them available when shopping. And if you can purchase them, simply consider doing so!